Get ready. In a city filling up with modern design stores, the one that wants to show up the others has arrived.

BoConcept, a Danish company with stores in 47 countries, has opened its 25th U.S. store in San Francisco at Townsend and Second streets, right in the middle of SoMa's design-loving condo dwellers.

"We believe this company has it straight," said Caroline Krogh-Jensen, who owns the franchise with her husband, Soren, an 11-year BoConcept veteran.

The firm, which grew out of Denmark's midcentury furniture boom, has evolved into a company pushing traditional Danish quality and functionality while promising affordability.

Krogh-Jensen said BoConcept always chooses locations near competitors. The new San Francisco store is near K&D and Limn, Lignet Roset and Roche-Bobois, even Ikea.

"Fifty years of history is what makes us different," she said. "We can make a better product at a lesser cost."

To prove her point, Krogh-Jensen demonstrates a low, square coffee table in oak veneer with two top pieces that pivot upward to form eating trays while the remaining glassed section can be used for storage (shown above, $899).

Another winner: the Extra, a 28-inch-square ottoman that folds out into an 82-inch-long single bed with memory foam mattress, great for guests in small apartments ($629).

BoConcept has three style groupings designed to appeal to the urbanite: Mystery Mood (masculine and sophisticated; example, the Alpha sofa below, $3,229), Global Ground (earthy and natural) and Dimension Delight (for lovers of black and white and graphics).

Any piece can be customized with veneer, color and accessories, and colors and accessories offered will change each season, Krogh-Jensen said.